Behind the deal: How Patricia Wallwork expanded Milo's Tea

Patricia Wallwork, CEO of Milo’s Tea Co., with one of her customers, Tom Dekle, CEO of similarly named (but unaffiliated) Milo’s Hamburgers in Birmingham.

“Once we did that we were able to grow our business a lot more quickly,” Wallwork said. “Instead of working at a store level, we could work at a corporate level and effect change much more effectively.”

As distribution increased, so did the demand for more products. In April, Milo's launched its line of decaf tea, lemonade and tea/lemonade mix.

“We were working with the city council and Mayor (Kenneth) Gulley on our original abatement,' Wallwork said. “That was really equipment, upgrades and things we could do on this existing site without expanding our footprint. We were pretty much landlocked with what we have.”

When Wallwork told the city council her company was beginning to scout locations in other states for expansion, the city and the Industrial Development Board moved quickly to let her know the adjacent property may soon be available.